Opportunity. Representation. Justice.
Supporting mission-aligned, tax-exempt charitable organizations working at the intersection of equity, access, and cultural storytelling.
Our funding supports projects that expand access to life-changing opportunities in the arts and education—and that honor and amplify the stories, experiences, and achievements of historically marginalized communities.
In June 2025, the foundation underwrote four Jazz at Pride performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Led by Grammy Award–winner Bryan Carter, these concerts help expand queer representation within the jazz tradition and advance inclusive programming at one of the world’s premier cultural institutions.
Photo Credit: Perry Bindelglass
In 2025, the Foundation awarded a three-year operating grant to support the Rustin Center’s powerful programming, extraordinary in-house and virtual events, day-to-day operations, and its pivotal Safe-Space, open seven days a week. The Center honors Rustin’s legacy through social engagement, community organizing, public education, and its quintessential Queer History Archive—a freely accessible collection preserving LGBTQIA+ narratives through the years and across the rainbow spectrum.
Photos shared by BRCSJ Chief Activist, Robt Martin Seda-Schreiber
Access Opera: Guild Open Rehearsals for Students
First supported during the 2023–2024 season, the foundation deepened its investment in 2024–2025 with a five-year grant to expand student access to the arts. This initiative provides local students and educators with free admission to world-class opera rehearsals, fostering early and equitable exposure to the performing arts.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Tichler
Courtesy of Met Opera
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Premiering at the Met in 2025, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a new opera by composer Mason Bates and librettist Gene Scheer, adapted from Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, telling the story of two Jewish cousins in WWII-era New York who create an anti-fascist comic book hero while navigating exile, identity, and the cost of imagination in a world at war.
Design by 59
Courtesy of Met Opera
Ainadamar
Making its Met debut in 2024, Ainadamar is a contemporary Spanish-language opera by Osvaldo Golijov with a libretto by Tony Award–winner David Henry Hwang, exploring the life, death, and artistic legacy of Federico García Lorca through the memories of his muse, actress Margarita Xirgu.
Photo Credit: Marty Sohl
Courtesy of Met Opera
Clarence Cunningham Student Emergency Fund
Endowed by the foundation in 2022 and expanded with a five-year commitment starting in 2023, this fund is named for the college’s first Black student-athlete. It provides urgent, flexible financial support to students experiencing unforeseen hardship, ensuring educational continuity during crisis.
Bayard Rustin Award
Established in 2022 with funding provided by the foundation, this annual award honors the legacy of the seminal Black, gay, Quaker civil rights leader. It recognizes juniors who demonstrate leadership and service in support of LGBTQ+ life on campus.
Photos Courtesy of Earlham College